Track roller shaft mounting

ABSTRACT

Seal bracket and spacer construction for mounting track rollers of a crawler tractor. Brackets are provided which not only carry seals between track rollers and their shafts as well as mount the shafts on side members, but also aid in maintaining the side members in spaced relation to one another. To this end, upwardly projecting extensions on the brackets and a longitudinal plate are provided. The longitudinal plate is the back up member against the top ends of the bracket extensions and is welded at intervals to the side members, to which members the brackets are secured, and which members are secured to the tractor body by gage bars.

United States Patent Skanes et a].

15] 3,662,847 51 May 16, 1972 [54] TRACK ROLLER SHAFT MOUNTING [72]Inventors: Fredrick A. Skanes, Burlington; Ludwig E. Aker, Hamilton;Ronald G. Kraemer, Mitchell, all of Ontario, Canada Rogers ..305/28 UX2,991,132 7/1961 Schwartz ..305/28 X F ORElGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS86,495 9/ 1920 Switzerland ..305/ 28 Primary Examiner-Richard J JohnsonAttorney-Floyd B. Harman ABSTRACT Sea] bracket and spacer constructionfor mounting track rollers of a crawler tractor. Brackets are providedwhich not only carry seals between track rollers and their shafts aswell as mount the shafts on side members, but also aid in maintainingthe side members in spaced relation to one another. To this end,upwardly projecting extensions on the brackets and a longitudinal plateare provided. The longitudinal plate is the back up member against thetop ends of the bracket extensions and is welded at intervals to theside members, to which members the brackets are secured, and whichmembers are secured to the tractor body by gage bars.

12 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures TRACK ROLLER SHAFT MOUNTING This inventionrelates to a seal bracket and spacer construe tion for a tractor. Morespecifically, the invention relates to such a construction used in aroller shaft mounting for the track rollers of a crawler tractor.

The load of the tractor is transmitted to track rollers from its shaftsand is transmitted from the rollers to a pair of endless loops ofconnected track segments. Customarily, the load reaches theshafts forthe track rollers through spaced side members. The construction includesseal brackets between the side members and theshafts. In such aconstruction, it is difficult to maintain the spacing relative to theframe.

We have developed a novel construction whereby the brackets seal andmount the shafts and maintain the spacing between the side members. Morespecifically we provide, in a crawler track frame, the usual two-partsub-assembly of a relatively rotatable track roller and roller shaft,there being lateral portions of the roller confronting the sides of theframe and having the shaft ends therein and thereadjacent, and wefurther provide novel means to fix the shaft in the frame comprising: apair of seal-and-spacer brackets disposed one at each side of the frameadjacent a roller portion and receiving I the adjacent end of the shaft,each bracket having in the plane thereof a load reaction area to besupported; two seals, each between a roller portion and its adjacentbracket; a longitudinal top plate included in the frame and disposedhorizontally; and two struts each integral with a supported area in theplane of a bracket to react the load into the longitudinal top plate ofthe frame.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective of acrawler tractor partially disassembled employing the novel bracketconstruction of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view through a track roller of the crawlertractor, showing the present bracket construction;

FIG. 3 is a side view of a single bracket;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 2, showing a modified form ofbracket construction and a modified arrangement of roller and its shaft;and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view of a shaft employed in themodification of FIG. 4.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the tractor to which the novel bracketconstruction of the present invention is applied has a body and twoendless track assemblies made of connected track links 11 and located atopposite sides of the body, one pair of links 11 appearing in FIG. 2.Each assembly of links 11 is interiorly engaged for support purposes bya plurality of track rollers 12, which may be five in number for eachtrack.

Each group of track rollers 12 is located between two spaced parallelside members 13, which are positioned at the side of the tractor body10. Each track roller 12 is journalled by means of a pair of conicalthrust bearings 14 on a shaft 15. Theends of the shaft 15 are mounted inhub portions 15a of a pair of brackets 16 and keyed thereto againstrotation by means of pins 17 set in the shaft 15 and grooves 18 in thehub portions 15a receiving the pins 17.

There are two sets of brackets 16, one set being distributed along theinner face of one side member 13, and the other set being distributedalong the inner face of the other side member 13. Each bracket 16 isnonrotatably connected to the adjacent side member 13 by means of a pairof screws 19, which have their heads at the outer face of the sidemember 13, go through the side member, and are threaded into holes 20 inthe bracket 16. As shown in FIG. 3, the two holes 20 in each bracket 16are in diametrally opposed locations in relation to the associated shaft15, a line between the two holes being diagonal to the horizontal.

Between each end of the roller 12 and the associated bracket 61, a pairof rubber backed, face seal parts 21 and 22 is provided, the seal part21 engaging the bracket 16 and the seal part 22 engaging the end of theroller 12. The space in which the seals 21 and 22 are located is more orless closed by a pair of circular flanges 23 and 24 which are radiallyopposite the seal formed by the parts 21 and 22. The flange 23 is formedon the bracket 16 and is located radially outward of the flange 24 inoverlapping relation therewith. The flange 24 is formed on the end ofthe roller 12.

Each end of the shaft 15 is provided with a large threaded blind bore 25and lubricant passages 26 leading from the bore 25 to the adjacentbearing 14. A bolt or screw 27 whose head engages the outer face of theadjacent side member 13 and whose end is spaced from the blind end ofthe bore 25 retains lubricant in the bore 25. Lubricant may be suppliedto the bore 25 by a suitable apparatus which is applied to the bore 25in place of the screw 27. Putting endwise pre-load of the desired amounton the span of bearings 14 results from drawing down the frame sides 13and brackets 16 on the ends of shaft 15, the sides and brackets beingdrawn down against a suitable thickness of shims 15a at the shaft endswhen the bolts 27 are tightened under their final torque.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, each bracket 16 has an integral, strut-likevertical extension 28 which projects upwardly in spaced apartrelationship to the inner face of the adjacent side member 13 andterminates in an upper end somewhat below the top of the side member 13.A longitudinal plate 29 is provided, which backs up the upper end of thebracket extensions 28 in abutting relationship therewith without beingdirectly connected thereto, and has its side edges welded as indicatedat 30 to the tops of the side member 13 at longitudinally spacedregions.

The tops of the side members 13 are provided with outwardly directedflanges 31. As shown in FIG. 1, a pair of blocks 32 are provided, whichare spaced from one another along the side members 13 and rest on theflanges 31. The blocks 32 are shaped to receive gage bars 33 which areattached to the bottom of the tractor body 10 and project laterallytherefrom. The gage bars 33 are secured to the blocks 32 and the blocks32 to the flanges 31 by means of retainers 34, hold down bolts 35, andnuts, not shown. The retainers 34 engage the tops of the gage bars 33and the blocks 32. The bolts 35 go through the retainers 34, the blocks32, and the flanges 31. The nuts, not shown, are threaded on the lowerend of the bolts 35 against the lower sides of the flanges 31 of theside members 13.

The tractor is driven by an engine '37 in the body 10 through drivingsprockets (not shown), one driving sprocket being located within therear end of the interior of one loop of connectedtrack links 11, and theother within the rear end of the other loop. Front idlers 38 engage theinterior of the front ends of the loops of track links 11, one idlerwheel being shown in FIG. 1.

The load of the tractor is transmitted to the gage members 33, theblocks 32, side members 13, brackets 16, shafts 15, and track rollers12, to the links 11 at the bottom of the endless tracks or loops inengagement with the rollers 12. The tractor load is also transmittedthrough the longitudinal plate 29 andthe strut-like bracket extensions28 which act as load struts and locators or spacers by virtue of theabutting engagement between the extensions 28 and the plate 29. Thelongitudinal plate 29 and the bracket extensions 28 help to maintain aproper spaced relationship between the side members 13 within which thetrack rollers 12 can operate. Such spacing function isperformed by theplate 29 and the bracket extensions 28, because the plate 29 is securedto and between the upper sides of the side members 13 and transmitsloads to the bracket extensions 28.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a modified form of the invention is presentedin which each of a plurality of shafts 39 has a pair of shoulders 40,each of which is adjacent to but spaced from an end of the shaft andfaces that end. Each shaft 39 has at a mid region a wide shallow annulargroove 41 to which lubricant passages 42 lead from a central opening 43having an enlarged threaded end portion 44. The threaded end portion 44is adapted to be engaged by an apparatus for supplying lubricant to theshaft 39 or by a closure member for retaining lubricant in the shaft.

A roller 45 on each shaft 39 has frictional bearing engagement withportions 46 of the shaft 39 on opposite sides of the wide groove 41.Each roller 45 is positioned on its shaft 39 by means of annular disks47 which are fastened by means of screws 48 to the roller 45 and engagethe shoulders 40 on the shaft 39. Each shaft 39 has reduced end portions49 which are secured by pins 50in a pair of brackets 51.

The brackets 51 are similar to the brackets 16 in having verticalupwardly projecting extensions 28 which are slightly spaced from sidemembers 13 and abut the longitudinal plate 29 without being connectedthereto. A pair of seals 52 is applied to each shaft 39 and the pair ofassociated side members 51. Each seal 52 has frictional engagement withone annular disk 47 and is urged thereagainst by an assembly comprisingannular members 53 and 54, a ring 55 engaging them, and a coil spring 56urging them apart. A seal 57 acts between each bracket 51 and theassociated annular member 54. A pin 58 holds the bracket 51 againstrotational movement with respect to the associated annular member 54.The annular space for each seal 52 formed between the adjacent annulardisk 47, end portion 49 of shaft 39, and associated bracket 51 is moreor less closed by an annular flange 59 formed on the bracket 51 so asloosely to overlap the periphery of the annular disk 47.

What is claimed is:

1. In a tractor driven by an endless chain assembly formed of connectedtrack segments, the combination comprising a set of track rollersdistributed along the interior of the chain in engagement with the lowerside thereof, a pair of laterally spaced side members extending alongthe chain, a set of shafts, one to a roller, journalling the rollers andextending transversely of and between'the side members, two sets ofbrackets, the brackets of one set being distributed along one sidemember at the surface thereof facing the other side member, the bracketsof the other set being distributed along the other side member at thesurface thereof facing the other side member, each shaft having one endmounted in a bracket of the said one set and the other end mounted in abracket of the said other set, the brackets having vertical extensions,one to a bracket, each extension. projecting independently of theadjacent side member upwards of the region of the particular bracketmounting the associated shaft, a longitudinal plate abutting the upperends of the vertical extensions of the brackets and having its sideedges joined to upper regions of the side members, seals acting betweenthe ends of each roller and the associated brackets, and means securingthe said one side member and the other side member, respectively, to thebrackets of said one set and the brackets ofsaid other set.

2. The combination specified in claim 1, the longitudinal plate beingjoined to the side members by welding, the vertical extensions on thebrackets of the said one set and the brackets of the said other set,respectively, being somewhat spaced from the said one side member andthe said other side member, the direct relationship of the longitudinalplate with the vertical extensions involving only abutment and beingfree of connections.

3. The combination specified in claim 2, each roller having a pair ofcircular flanges, one on one end, the other on the other end, eachbracket having a circular flange overlapping the circular flange on theadjacent end of the associated roller, the flange on the bracket and theroll being located outward of the seals between the roller and thebracket so as generally to close the space occupied by the seals, eachroller being journalled on the associated shaft by a pair of conicalthrust bearings.

4. The combination specified in claim 2, each roller having a pair ofshoulders near but spaced from its ends, the shoulders facing its ends,the combination further comprising a pair of annular discs attached tothe ends of each roller and extending radially inwards therefrom inoverlapping engagement with the shoulders on the associated shaft, eachbracket having a circular flange overlapping the outer edge of theannular disc on the adjacent end of the associated roller so asgenerally to close the space occupied by the seals, each shaft having ata mid region a wide shallow annular groove and lubricant passagesleading to the groove, each shaft having direct bearing contact with theassociated roller at regions of the shaft beyond the ends of the shallowgroove.

5. The combination specified in claim 2 and further comprising aplurality of pairs of screws joining the brackets to the side members,each pair of screws being applied to a single bracket in diametrallyopposed locations in relation to the associated shaft, a line betweenthe screws of each pair being inclined to the horizontal.

6. In a tractor driven by a closed loop formed of connected tracksegments and located at the side of the tractor body, the combinationcomprising gage bars extending from the tractor body at regions thereofspaced longitudinally thereof, a pair of laterally spaced side membersextending along the tractor body and having flanges at their upperedges, a pair of blocks bridging the side members and secured to theflanges thereof and to the gage bars, a set of track rollers distributedalong the interior of the loop of track segments in engagementtherewith, shafts journalling the rollers, a plurality of bracketsdistributed along the inner faces of the side members and mounting theends of the shafts, seals operating between the rollers and thebrackets, means securing the brackets to the side members, the bracketshaving vertical extensions projecting upwards beyond the seals and thesecuring means, and a longitudinal plate resting on the upper ends ofthe vertical extensions on the brackets and being welded to the sidemembers adjacent the flanges.

7. in a crawler vehicle having a track frame, and an assembly therein ofa relatively rotatable track roller and roller shaft, said shaft beingconnected to the side members of the frame so as to bridge therebetweenand be supported in part thereby, there being lateral portions of theroller confronting said frame side members and having the shaft ends inand adjacent the roller, the combination with the frame, shaft, androller, of means to fix the shaft in the frame in proper spacingthereto, comprising:

a pair of seal brackets disposed one at each side of the frame adjacenta roller portion and receiving the adjacent end of the shaft, eachbracket having in the plane thereof a load reaction portion to besupported;

two seals, each between a roller portion and its adjacent bracket;

a longitudinal top plate included in the frame so as to go from one sidethereof to the other and disposed horizontally; and

two spacer struts intermediate and generally parallel to the frame sidemembers, each strut secured to a supported portion aforesaid in theplane of a bracket, and directly engaged and supported by thelongitudinal top plate of the frame.

8. The invention of claim 7, characterized by sets of bolts (19) eachnonrotatably connecting a supported portion of a bracket to the side ofthe frame to prevent rotation.

9. The invention of claim 8, characterized by non-rotatable means (17)connecting a supporting portion of each bracket to the adjacent end ofthe shaft to prevent rotation.

10. The invention of claim 7, characterized by two bearings (14) eachconnecting a roller portion for antifriction relative rotation to andupon the adjacent nonrotatable shaft end.

11. The invention of claim 10, characterized by two side bolts eachconnecting a shaft end to the side member of the frame at that side andpre-loading and supporting the assembly on the frame.

12. in a crawler vehicle having a track frame, and an assembly thereinof a relatively rotatable track roller and roller shaft, there beinglateral portions of the roller confronting the sides of the frame andhaving the shaft ends therein and thereadjacent, the combination withthe frame, shaft, and roller, of means to fix the shaft in the framecomprising:

a pair of seal brackets disposed one at each side of the frame adjacenta roller portion and receiving the adjacent end of the shaft, eachbracket having in the plane thereof a load reaction portion to besupported;

two seals, each between a roller portion and its adjacent bracket;

a longitudinal top plate included in the frame and disposedhorizontally; and

two spacer struts each integral with a supported portion in 5 the planeof the bracket, and directly engaged and supported by the longitudinaltop plate of the frame.

1. In a tractor driven by an endless chain assembly formed of connectedtrack segments, the combination comprising a set of track rollersdistributed along the interior of the chain in engagement with the lowerside thereof, a pair of laterally spaced side members extending alongthe chain, a set of shafts, one to a roller, journalling the rollers andextending transversely of and between the side members, two sets ofbrackets, the brackets of one set being distributed along one sidemember at the surface thereof facing the other side member, the bracketsof the other set being distributed along the other side member at thesurface thereof facing the other side member, each shaft having one endmounted in a bracket of the said one set and the other end mounted in abracket of the said other set, the brackets having vertical extensions,one to a bracket, each extension projecting independently of theadjacent side member upwards of the region of the particulaR bracketmounting the associated shaft, a longitudinal plate abutting the upperends of the vertical extensions of the brackets and having its sideedges joined to upper regions of the side members, seals acting betweenthe ends of each roller and the associated brackets, and means securingthe said one side member and the other side member, respectively, to thebrackets of said one set and the brackets of said other set.
 2. Thecombination specified in claim 1, the longitudinal plate being joined tothe side members by welding, the vertical extensions on the brackets ofthe said one set and the brackets of the said other set, respectively,being somewhat spaced from the said one side member and the said otherside member, the direct relationship of the longitudinal plate with thevertical extensions involving only abutment and being free ofconnections.
 3. The combination specified in claim 2, each roller havinga pair of circular flanges, one on one end, the other on the other end,each bracket having a circular flange overlapping the circular flange onthe adjacent end of the associated roller, the flange on the bracket andthe roll being located outward of the seals between the roller and thebracket so as generally to close the space occupied by the seals, eachroller being journalled on the associated shaft by a pair of conicalthrust bearings.
 4. The combination specified in claim 2, each rollerhaving a pair of shoulders near but spaced from its ends, the shouldersfacing its ends, the combination further comprising a pair of annulardiscs attached to the ends of each roller and extending radially inwardstherefrom in overlapping engagement with the shoulders on the associatedshaft, each bracket having a circular flange overlapping the outer edgeof the annular disc on the adjacent end of the associated roller so asgenerally to close the space occupied by the seals, each shaft having ata mid region a wide shallow annular groove and lubricant passagesleading to the groove, each shaft having direct bearing contact with theassociated roller at regions of the shaft beyond the ends of the shallowgroove.
 5. The combination specified in claim 2 and further comprising aplurality of pairs of screws joining the brackets to the side members,each pair of screws being applied to a single bracket in diametrallyopposed locations in relation to the associated shaft, a line betweenthe screws of each pair being inclined to the horizontal.
 6. In atractor driven by a closed loop formed of connected track segments andlocated at the side of the tractor body, the combination comprising gagebars extending from the tractor body at regions thereof spacedlongitudinally thereof, a pair of laterally spaced side membersextending along the tractor body and having flanges at their upperedges, a pair of blocks bridging the side members and secured to theflanges thereof and to the gage bars, a set of track rollers distributedalong the interior of the loop of track segments in engagementtherewith, shafts journalling the rollers, a plurality of bracketsdistributed along the inner faces of the side members and mounting theends of the shafts, seals operating between the rollers and thebrackets, means securing the brackets to the side members, the bracketshaving vertical extensions projecting upwards beyond the seals and thesecuring means, and a longitudinal plate resting on the upper ends ofthe vertical extensions on the brackets and being welded to the sidemembers adjacent the flanges.
 7. In a crawler vehicle having a trackframe, and an assembly therein of a relatively rotatable track rollerand roller shaft, said shaft being connected to the side members of theframe so as to bridge therebetween and be supported in part thereby,there being lateral portions of the roller confronting said frame sidemembers and having the shaft ends in and adjacent the roller, thecombination with the frame, shaft, and roller, of means to fix the shaftin the frame in proper sPacing thereto, comprising: a pair of sealbrackets disposed one at each side of the frame adjacent a rollerportion and receiving the adjacent end of the shaft, each bracket havingin the plane thereof a load reaction portion to be supported; two seals,each between a roller portion and its adjacent bracket; a longitudinaltop plate included in the frame so as to go from one side thereof to theother and disposed horizontally; and two spacer struts intermediate andgenerally parallel to the frame side members, each strut secured to asupported portion aforesaid in the plane of a bracket, and directlyengaged and supported by the longitudinal top plate of the frame.
 8. Theinvention of claim 7, characterized by sets of bolts (19) eachnonrotatably connecting a supported portion of a bracket to the side ofthe frame to prevent rotation.
 9. The invention of claim 8,characterized by non-rotatable means (17) connecting a supportingportion of each bracket to the adjacent end of the shaft to preventrotation.
 10. The invention of claim 7, characterized by two bearings(14) each connecting a roller portion for antifriction relative rotationto and upon the adjacent nonrotatable shaft end.
 11. The invention ofclaim 10, characterized by two side bolts each connecting a shaft end tothe side member of the frame at that side and pre-loading and supportingthe assembly on the frame.
 12. In a crawler vehicle having a trackframe, and an assembly therein of a relatively rotatable track rollerand roller shaft, there being lateral portions of the roller confrontingthe sides of the frame and having the shaft ends therein andthereadjacent, the combination with the frame, shaft, and roller, ofmeans to fix the shaft in the frame comprising: a pair of seal bracketsdisposed one at each side of the frame adjacent a roller portion andreceiving the adjacent end of the shaft, each bracket having in theplane thereof a load reaction portion to be supported; two seals, eachbetween a roller portion and its adjacent bracket; a longitudinal topplate included in the frame and disposed horizontally; and two spacerstruts each integral with a supported portion in the plane of thebracket, and directly engaged and supported by the longitudinal topplate of the frame.